Artist Feature

Alice Achoo

 

Your Name/Artist Name

My name is Alice Brown – but I work under the brand name Alice Achoo!

Turns out there are a lot of Alice Browns in this world so my real name is too tricky to use as a brand – for websites, email and social media accounts.

 

Where are you based?

I’m newly based in Perth, WA. We moved over early 2022 from Brisbane. Perth’s aqua beaches, sunsets, and cinnamon scrolls have been a brilliant surprise.

 

What genre of art/photography describes your work best?

I do both traditional art using coloured pencil and ink, digital art, and illustration. Lately, I’ve been more focused on digital art/illustration because we’re living in a tiny apartment, and it’s easier to store and keep digital works tidy.

 

How did you get into your artistic pursuit?

I’ve drawn since early childhood to relax. Mum and Dad always encouraged us by getting us fancy artist quality pencil sets for Christmas. I got my first set of artist’s pencils at eight years old and loved them.

 

Motivations

When I have the time to really indulge in art, I love observing plants and realising they aren’t the shape I’d first thought. And I love drawing people in cities and towns, doing things that we don’t often think to note.

I’ve not pursued my art practice full-time yet – I haven’t quite figured out how to make it work for me financially. My art is very detailed, and it can be hard to make the right amount of money for the time it takes. So, I work full-time in design and social research, and find time for my arts practice outside of that. After a full day’s work, it can be hard to fit in an hour or so of drawing. It’s times like this I’m motivated by the feeling you get when you see an artwork to the end, and just the joy of zoning out with a pencil after a day in front of the computer.

 

How do you sell your work?

I sell my art as prints online, or I do the occasional commission outside of my full-time work. This includes illustration for brands, or traditional art for homes, cafes, restaurants, and offices.

 

Favourite Fine Art Paper.

I love the bamboo fine art paper by Hahnemühle for my prints.
If I’m working traditionally, I love using Arches’ cold-pressed papier – it’s so posh that “paper” is written in French.

 

Favourite artist/poet/author/anyone that you admire/influences you.

Mary Oliver’s poetry is my biggest influence – it’s very focused on attuning to the world’s beauty and allowing it to influence how we see. Her poem “Wild Geese” is a classic that I love to re-read from time to time.

 

Any words of wisdom/resources for other artists?

The most relaxing advice I regularly give myself is to resist working at an Instagram/TikTok pace. I could pump out artworks daily and seek out a big social media following, but it wouldn’t be the detailed work that I enjoy. It might be something I pursue later in life, but for now I want to enjoy doing art that isn’t shaped by algorithms and social media trends.

 

Future plans/projects.

I have so many future plans and projects – probably too many!

I’m due to give birth to my first child in January 2023, so I’m relaxing into the idea that I might have less time for making any new art for a while. I hope to spend my maternity leave adjusting to parenthood, and eventually finding a balance that works for myself and our little family. I’m also so excited to teach my new daughter or son how to draw too, when they’re ready.

With that in mind, I’m focused mostly on slow projects without pressure for now. I’m working on a giant digital piece of some Jacaranda flowers for the nursery. Once complete, I want to illustrate some of the beautiful places I’ve been thankful to get to know in Perth and Western Australia!

I also have a little illustrated book on the go based on interviews I’ve been doing with people all around the world. I interview someone new each month – it’s another slow project that I hope to have finished in the next five years.

After some maternity leave, I’ll also be looking to get back into commissions and some other fun projects. I’m always happy to take enquiries.

 

Contact Details.